Typically, a polarization element is manufactured by orienting iodine or a dichroic dye as dichroic pigments on a polyvinyl alcohol resin film by adsorption. A protective film comprising triacetyl cellulose or the like is adhered, via an adhesive layer, to at least one surface of the polarization element to give a polarization plate, which is used in a liquid crystal display device or the like. A polarization plate that employs iodine as the dichroic pigment is called an iodine-based polarization plate, while a polarization plate that employs a dichroic dye as the dichroic pigment is called a dye-based polarization plate. Of these, dye-based polarization plates have high heat resistance, high durability against heat and humidity, and high stability, and also feature wide color selection through blending; on the other hand, there is a problem in that a polarization plate having the same degree of polarization as an iodine-based polarization plate will have comparatively lower transmittance, i.e. lower contrast. Accordingly, there is a desire for a polarization plate that maintains high durability, while offering a wide selection of colors, as well as having higher transmittance and high polarization characteristics. However, even with such dye-based polarization plates that offer a wide selection of colors, the polarization elements to date have been ones that, when it is attempted to arrange polarization elements parallel to the absorption axis to produce white, instead emit a yellowish tinge. When, in order to ameliorate the yellowish tinge encountered with the parallel arrangement, a polarization plate designed to minimize the yellowish tinge encountered with the parallel arrangement is fabricated, a resultant problem is that, when the polarization element is arranged on an orthogonal axis with respect to the absorption axis, black appears as blue. Therefore, while there is a need, as a polarization element, for a polarization plate that expresses achromatic white when white color is to be displayed, and that expresses achromatic black when black color is to be displayed, no polarization element or polarization plate has been capable of expressing achromatic white when displaying white, and achromatic black when displaying black, at single transmittance of 35% or above.